Iran Ready To Enter Talks About 20% Enrichment

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has expressed the country’s readiness to show flexibility in order to allay international concerns over its nuclear energy program.

“If a guarantee is provided to supply the 20-percent [enriched uranium] fuel for Tehran Research Reactor, our officials are ready to enter talks about the 20-percent enrichment of uranium,” Mehmanparast said.

However, he said, this does not mean that Iran does not have the right to enrich uranium to the level of 20 percent.

Iran

“All countries have this right.”

Iran is ready to show flexibility to remove concerns within a legal framework but such measures should be reciprocal, the Iranian spokesperson pointed out, adding that the other side should also make moves to completely recognize Iran’s nuclear and enrichment rights for peaceful purposes.

He noted that in the previous talks with the six major world powers of the P5+1, Iran expressed readiness to remove concerns in a step-by-step and mutually agreed framework.

Mehmanparast once again reaffirmed the peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear energy program based on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), saying the Islamic Republic is a signatory to the treaty and opposes the production of nuclear weapons.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman has also rejected reports about the Islamic Republic supporting the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants.

“The Turkish officials are aware of our stances and admit that these groups are being supported by other countries,” Mehmanparast said.

“Our region is strategic and certain Western countries do not want security and stability to be established in our region and try to create dispute and conflict between regional countries; therefore they support extremist groups,” Mehmanparast added.

Referring to escalating tension between Syria and Turkey, the Iranian official said conflict among regional countries is not to the benefit of either state and Tehran would try to establish stability and security in the region.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman also said the West pursues an agenda of sowing discord among regional nations as well as inciting Islamophobia and Iranophobia in the pursuit of its objectives.

Ramin Mehmanparast insisted on the need for cooperation and collaboration among independent nations towards the establishment of peace and security across the world and said, “The interference of powerful countries in the internal affairs of other nations must be prevented.”

“Inciting a wave of Islamophobia and Iranophobia, sowing discord among regional nations, opposing regional convergence and cooperation, and preparing the ground for the expansion of the activities of radical and terrorist groups with specific political aims are among the objectives on the agenda of major powers,” he said.

He further noted that such powers try to reach their aims by recruiting the help of major media conglomerates in presenting as facts the things that suit their own interests.

“That is why we see that good and sacred notions such as democracy, human rights, counter-terrorism and access to advanced technology for development and progress are becoming meaningless,” said the Iranian official.

Mehmanparast then stated that a question raised by people across the world is why the powers that have assumed the role of global management are using their authority to interfere in the internal affairs of other nations.

“Why do they engage in killing hundreds of thousands of innocent people in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Iraq under the pretext of fighting terrorism? And why do they wage civil wars in other countries and offer support to radical and terrorist groups using the promotion of democracy as an excuse?”

He further added that other questions the people of the world have to ask include, “why is it that countries that possess weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear arms, are constantly modernizing their arsenals rather than living up to their commitments in the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and in the meantime try to block the legitimate and peaceful nuclear activities of other nations according to the NPT?”

The Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has also criticized the United Kingdom’s Defense Secretary Philip Hammond for his comments on the Iranian nuclear energy program.

Mehmanparast said Hammond’s comments only reveal the anger of the UK government at Tehran’s progress.

He noted that such remarks indicate that London’s all-out efforts to block Iran’s path to development and prosperity have failed.

Mehmanparast went on to say that such outrageous comments prove that British officials are ignorant of accepted international mechanisms, such as the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The Iranian official emphasized that the Iranian nation will not back away from its inalienable right to a peaceful nuclear energy program under the NPT.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman said the progress of nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 has been hindered by the United States.

“The US does not seek to solve problems and only creates obstacles in the progress of negotiations between Iran and P5+1,” Mehmanparast said.

Mehmanparast said that Washington obstructed the negotiations whenever they yielded a positive result.

He also criticized the US nuclear policy and said Washington accuses Iran of seeking to produce a nuclear bomb while the US itself has a huge stockpile of atomic weapons and even admits to having used them.

He stressed the peaceful nature of Tehran’s nuclear energy program and said the Islamic Republic is opposed to nuclear arms based on its religious beliefs.

Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman has also called on Syria and Turkey to exercise restraint with regard to their existing disputes to prevent tension from spreading across the Middle East.

Mehmanparast insisted that the root cause of the rising tension between Ankara and Damascus should be identified, adding, “The two countries should prevent confrontation in the region by applying restraint.”

“We carefully follow up the tension between Syria and Turkey and have called on the two countries’ officials to immediately resolve the tension,” he added.

Mehmanparast noted that dispute and confrontation run counter to the interests of the regional countries and reaffirmed Iran’s determination to help restore stability and security across the Middle East.

The Islamic Republic has dismissed a recent report by the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Iran, Ahmed Shaheed, as politically motivated, biased, and without any legal basis.

In a statement issued on Friday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry criticized the report, which accuses the government of human rights violations, saying it is a reflection of Western animosity toward Iran.

“Ahmad Shaheed’s report contains repeated claims, which the Islam Republic has dismissed several times. In addition, his claims are based on accounts by Iran’s enemies, resulting in an unsubstantiated report that does not reflect the realities on the ground in the country,” the statement said.

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Iran Review is a Tehran-based site that is independent, non-governmental and non-partisan and representing scientific and professional approaches towards Iran’s political, economic, social, religious, and cultural affairs, its foreign policy, and regional and international issues within the framework of analysis and articles.